Knowledge Solutions
Regulation and Governance
Whether you are just formulating the question, in the midst of research, examining impact, or working on the final report, we are eager to collaborate.
Technology Transfer
& Standard Setting
Rigor qualifies the adaptability of proposed solutions and directs knowledge flows between research frameworks and sectors of the economy, ensuring that new technologies are valid, effective, socially and ethically sound.
Research across Borders
Our approach embraces uncertainty and risk, contextuality, transnational and cross-jurisdictional knowledge production. Rigor conducts research globally, in situ, when rapid response is the key to success.
A Senior Fellow at the Critical Research Laboratory in Law & Society, Igor earned a diploma in Justice System Administration and developed his "Critical Knowledge Mobilization" approach during postdoctoral training at McMaster University debating the limitations of knowledge transfer, translation, and implementation science.
Igor participated in the governance and peer review of biomedical and social science research as a Research Ethics Board (REB) member of the University Health Network (UHN) Rehabilitation Medicine and Science Research Ethics Board in Toronto. He was a reviewer for the Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics, and BMC Medical Ethics.
Latest projects at Rigor: policy and program review, stakeholder engagement, qualitative interviews, survey, and development of a quality assurance program for a regulatory health college in Ontario.
Products
knowledge synthesis - systematic reviews, research briefs, and policy development
research ethics - research ethics analysis and REB applications
research design - methodology, qualitative, and action-oriented research
data collection - expert interview, participant observation, focus groups and round tables
surveys - for knowledge production and quality assurance purposes
knowledge mobilization - stakeholder engagement and participatory research, events and conference organization, project website development
and more
Research Excellence
Gontcharov, I., Kobayashi, K., Grenier, A. “Knowledge Mobilization for an Engaged Researcher”. In Knowledge, Innovation, and Impact in Health: A Guide for the Engaged Researcher. Edited by Sixsmith, A., Sixsmith, J., Mihailidis, A., Lan Fang, M. Springer, Forthcoming 2020.
Grenier, A., Gontcharov, I., Kobayashi, K., Burke, E. "Critical Knowledge Mobilization: Directions for Social Gerontology". Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement 40 (October 2020): 1-10.
Gontcharov, I., Qualitative Ethics in a Positivist Frame: The Canadian Experience 1998-2014. In The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research Ethics. Edited by Ron Iphofen and Martin Tolich. Sage Publications, 2018.
Gontcharov, I., “The Eclipse of 'Human Subjects' and the Rise of 'Human Participants' in Research Involving Humans,” in Ethics Rupture: Exploring Alternatives to Formal Research-Ethics Review, edited by van den Hoonaard, Will C. and Hamilton, Ann. University of Toronto Press, 2016.
Gontcharov, I., MacDonald, L. Alternative Models of Ethical Governance: The 2016 New Brunswick-Otago Declaration on Research Ethics. New Zealand Journal Sociology 31(4), 2016.
Gontcharov, I., Methodological Crisis in the Social Sciences: The New Brunswick Declaration as a New Paradigm in Research Ethics Governance? Transnational Legal Theory, 2013 4 (1).
Research and Policy Briefs
Gontcharov, I., Developing an Effective and Responsive Quality Assurance Program. Research and Policy Brief 2022-05a. Rigor Reports Series. Rigor. 2022.
Gontcharov, I., Comparative Outline of a Responsive and Reflexive Quality Assurance Program for a Regulatory Health College. Research and Policy Brief 2022-05b. Rigor Reports Series. Rigor. 2022.
Completed Projects
Quality Assurance Program Enhancement Project, 2020-2021
Quality Assurance (QA) in the Context of Regulated Health Professions: Policy Review, Best Practices, and Emerging Trends. Summary Report. Toronto
Quality Assurance Program Review. Summary Report. Toronto
The QA Enhancement Project Survey. Data Analysis. Toronto
Stakeholder Interview Guide. Toronto
Stakeholder Interviews: Thematic Analysis. Summary Report. Toronto
Responsive and Reflexive Quality Assurance. Final Report. For the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of Ontario. Toronto